"You go out and talk to the dogs."

Suddenly, isolation is the reality of large numbers of people throughout the world -- and others are subject to great risks because they aren't isolated. As we adapt to this new and possibly rather long term reality, I've been thinking about the experience of many farmers, ranchers, explorers, pioneers on the frontier, long-distance solo sailors, and others who have lived in social isolation for various reasons in the past. Many of such individuals or families lived truly without contact, without the ability to obtain new food and supplies, and often faced dangers that we simply aren't going to encounter. Seemingly the only danger to us not them is contagious disease. 

Here's a little sketch of a person with this type of experience that we met a few years ago:

Kenneth Monsen onboard the Explorer, 2015.

Kenneth Monsen, a Norwegian naturalist and expedition guide, was one of the memorable staff members we talked to onboard the National Geographic Explorer on our trip to Svalbard in 2015. Kenneth lived for a winter with his wife in an isolated trapper cabin on one of the Svalbard islands. In a fascinating illustrated presentation he described how they traveled to their temporary home, gathered wood for the winter, trapped and hunted for food, managed their dogs, enjoyed the coming of light at the end of winter, and generally how they lived as much as they could in the old ways. Besides the danger of the extreme cold, they also risked attack by polar bears, which are terribly dangerous animals. I think they had a radio for emergency use, but no regular communication with the rest of the world.

We asked if trappers or couples like him and his wife, living together in close quarters, ever became violently angry with each other. Kenneth said 

"When you feel that way, you go out and talk to the dogs."

The Monsens' winter in isolation was several years before we met him on the ship. By the time we met him, Kenneth and his wife and children were living on a farm outside of Oslo. On the farm, they raise sled dogs for racing, and Kenneth served as a guide on National Geographic voyages like ours.

A cabin on the tundra in Svalbard used by trappers until polar
bear hunting became illegal in 1973.

Right now we are keeping ourselves distant from society in hopes that we can escape the growing danger from the coronavirus. But unlike people living in other isolating situations, as well as unlike many less fortunate souls in our society and in other countries, we have many advantages. We have ways to get at least emergency medical care if we need it. We can exchange emails and have other electronic interactions with our friends and family throughout the world as well as having access to news and entertainment on TV, ebooks, and online. We make contact, though at a distance, with neighbors. We are enjoying freedom from hunger, with several ways to get food and supplies and to cook, and we have a warm, large house to live in. We owe a lot to the people who are still taking dire risks so that we can have these advantages. We have a lot to be grateful for, not just freedom from polar bears!

A polar bear on the ice pack, from the Explorer, 2015.

Blog post and photos copyright © 2015 & 2020 by Mae Sander 

for maefood dot blogspot dot com.